October 2011

October 31, 2011

Washington Nationals new manager Davey Johnson watches the team take batting practice before their MLB baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, California, June 27, 2011. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL HEADSHOT)

Davey immediately set the bar pretty low for what he expects out of the Nats in 2012:

"Winning the pennant. Winning the division. Winning the National League. I couldn't have said that last spring. I didn't think the talent was ready. But after being there and seeing the progress that some of the young players made, I think we definitely can contend. And I would be sorely disappointed if we didn't do just that." (Davey Johnson, via NatsInsider, 10/31/2011)

That's a far cry from the sentiment around these parts this time last year, when the hope was to finish .500; but that's what a strong finish can do to you. April 5th can't get here soon enough...

Meanwhile, what's the over-under on Harper as starting right fielder for the Nats to start the 2012 season? Not only is Harper on fire with the bat in the Arizona Fall League, he is perfecting the art of the baseball-cliche-loaded postgame interview, letting the game come to him, staying within himself, etc:

"I don't know if I would say that I feel locked in. I still have some flaws to work on and I have to look for pitches I can drive. I need to let the game come to me. ...I got ahead of myself a little bit. They were killing me with the off-speed stuff, with the slider, on the inside half of the plate. I was trying to do too much. I was chasing. I just had to stay within myself." (Bryce Harper, via MLB.com after homering for 3rd straight game, 10/29/2011)

Oh yes, Michael Morse is there, and we have a feeling he's about to go Beast Mode on the mostly amateurs making up the Chinese Taipei national team: Here's Morse on facing teammate Wang, via FocusTaiwan.com:

October 27, 2011

Yes, that's a photo of Jayson Werth at the Apple Store at Tyson's Corner (Ted Lerner's mall!) on Wednesday evening. According to anonymous sources with knowledge of the situation, Jayson Werth's iPad is broken, and he had to wait over an hour to get his situation resolved. Interestingly, at around $500 a pop, $126 million could buy, like, 250,000 iPads.

October 26, 2011

So Mike Rizzo held a conference call with real media outlets on Wednesday, and among the nuggets shared was a confirmation that the Nationals have scouted Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish. Via Mark Zuckerman:

Rizzo acknowledged his scouts saw Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish pitch several times this year. The GM himself saw Darvish, who may attempt to sign with a major-league club this winter, in person two seasons ago. "As we've always said, we're open to acquiring talent in any way, shape or form," Rizzo said. (via NatsInsider, 10/26/2011)

Let the record show that "acquiring talent in any way, shape, or form" includes overpaying for it (see Werth, Jayson). Here's a little more on Darvish, via Adam Kilgore/Washington Post:

The price to acquire would be steep. Darvish would be made available to major league organizations by his team, the Nippon Ham Fighters, via the “posting” system. Teams would submit bids, and the highest bidder would earn the right to negotiate exclusively with Darvish. Between the bid and the contract, the team that acquires Darvish will pay at least $100 million by most estimates. (via Nationals Journal, 10/26/2011)

We'd prefer it if the Nats just say away, but just in case Rizzo decides to make a batshit crazy bid for Darvish, and it sticks, up above we present that official Yu Darvish cheer song (apparently sung by fans during Darvish ABs). From YouTube user dr4b, the song goes a little something like this:

雄叫びあげて 唸るその剛腕 我らのエース 日本のエース

GoogleTranslate tells us it's something about "raising the roar roar of the Japanese Ace of our."

Sounds good. Hopefully there's no need for Nationals fans to learn the Yu Darvish song, but you're still free to sing along at home just in case.

October 25, 2011

Apparently Jesus Flores is pleased by all the hits so far in his 2011 Venezuelan Winter League campaign. Indeed, to say Flores is raking through nine games for Navegantes del Magallanes would be an understatement: 462/.488/.795, 18 hits, 4 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI.

Wait, did Flores just say "I hope Wilson Ramos breaks both his legs this Winter."?

And after watching what Albert Pujols did on Saturday night (ignoring his no-show on Sunday and/or the rest of the 2011 playoffs), could you blame your fellow Nationals fans for joining the "Throw big bags of Ted Lerner's cash at Albert Pujols" camp? We're right there with you. Almost. So what if chances are slim and none?

But, according to MLB rules, the Nats are required to interview other candidates; and at least one minority candidate. So the Nats are conducting interviews. DeMarlo Hale, a fixture on Terry Francona's coaching staff for years in Boston -- who probably doesn't stand a chance at the Boston job due to his proximity to Francona -- could be on the short list of candiates for Davey Johnson's job.

DeMarlo Hale, Red Sox bench coach - He has a year remaining on his contract, and when the dust settles on personnel decisions, he will meet with new GM Ben Cherington to determine his fate. Hale hopes to interview for the Sox managerial job. He also could be a candidate in Chicago, his hometown, under Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. The Washington job is likely out, with Davey Johnson expected to return, but there may be an interview process, and Hale will likely be a candidate given the strong backing he’ll receive from Nationals special adviser Bob Schaefer.

Hale probably has a a worse chance of landing the job in Washington than he does landing the Boston job. We'll go out on a limb and say DeMarlo Hale won't be managing in Washington in 2012, but he'll probably get an interview.

But why haven't the Nats announced Davey yet? He's the guy for the job, and he wants the job, right?

"We'd never put down any type of definitive statements at this time of the offseason, but suffice it to say, we feel comfortable with the first base situation as it is. That's not to say something couldn't change during the winter. But we feel comfortable with LaRoche and with Morse in the background." (Mike Rizzo, via CSN Washington, 10/20/2011)

But what else can he say at this point? Obviously Rizzo has other concerns this offseason besides signing one of the two biggest fish on the free agent market...but we still won't be surprised to see either Fielder or Pujols putting on the Curly W for the first time this winter during a press conference at Nationals Park. Rizzo loves to make a splash, afterall...